Saturday, December 19, 2009

Weary Brooklyn Christmas shoppers were unexpectedly entertained on Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, when a troupe of approximately 20 Granny Peace Brigade members and Raging Grannies sang revised Christmas carols condemning war toys at the TARGET Store in Flatbush's Atlantic Shopping Center simultaneously with a serious demonstration against the toxic playthings. This was the second protest in the grannies' recently-launched campaign called "NO MORE WAR TOYS, NO MORE WARS." The first action took place on December 4 at the Times Square Toys "R" Us store,

Although warned by the police earlier in the day to not attempt to conduct any mischief inside TARGET, the grannies nevertheless "invaded" the store at approximately 4 p.m. and quickly went to the toy department where they filled up four carts and some baskets with the most violent toys ever conceived.

The grannies then rode them down the escalator while unfurling many bright yellow banners imprinted with the black letters, "WAR IS NOT A GAME" and "NO MORE WAR TOYS." As they rode down to the next floor, they sang the famous John Lennon refrain, "Give Peace a Chance."

They intended to leave the toy-filled carts and baskets at the check-out counter, but by the time the elderly crusaders and the carts reached the bottom of the escalator, however, a bevy of policemen was awaiting them and requested that they leave the store, which they did, singing and displaying their many banners as they wended their way outside.

The toys they gathered are disgraceful, to say the least -- guns with repeat bullets, grenades and all manner of killing machines designed to arouse the bloodlust of impressionable young children and teen-agers. The grannies, who have been trying for years to end the destructive and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, feel these toys militarize America's young and pave the way to more and more killing in the guise of protecting our homeland, a presumption the grandmothers reject.

Once outside, on Flatbush Avenue, the grandmothers opened their special songbooks and sang a number of Christmas carols which the women have revised with lyrics pleading that people not buy war toys. For, instance:

HARK, THE HERALD ANGELS SINGNOW, AT LAST, LET FREEDOM RING.PEACE ON EARTH AND MERCY MILD,NATIONS MUST BE RECONCILED.LET US PUT THE BOMBS AWA-A-Y!BRING OUR TROOPS HOME, NOW, TODA-A-YWARS ARE NOT FOR TOYS, OR A GAME. DON'T TEACH OUR KIDS TO KILL AND MAIM!GIVE THE CHILDREN TOYS OF PEACE, HELP THEM TO LEARN THAT WARS MUST CEASE.

Passersby stopped to enjoy the concert, and many told the grandmothers that they agreed with them. The protesters gave out hundreds of leaflets listing appropriate toys for parents to buy rather than the horrendous ones glorifying lethal battle.

Other members of the grannies' audience included the eight or so cops assigned to protect Brooklyn from the dangerous aged terrorists. The officers stood across from the women throughout their entire songfest trying without success to hide their delight at the grandmas' vocal offerings.

Said the oldest singer, Lillian Pollak, hale and active at 94, "We won't be here forever, and if we can't stop these deplorable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in our lifetime, we must at least do all within our power to convince our grandchildren that they must end the cycle of killing and waste we have been engaging in for far too long. We're determined to continue this struggle to bring back appropriate and healthy toys."

Friday, December 4, 2009

Shoppers in the Times Square Toys "R" Us flagship store were startledon Friday, December 5, when they looked up at the giant ferris wheel in the middle of the store and saw fifteen people riding it while unfurling bright yellow banners inscripted with the words "NO MORE WAR TOYS" and "WAR IS NOT A GAME!" As the wheel slowly revolved around, the mischief makers sang over and over John Lennon's famous refrain, "All We Are Saying Is Give Peace a Chance."

This caper was how the legendary Granny Peace Brigade launched their latest anti-war campaign, entitled "NO MORE WAR TOYS, NO MORE WARS." Fed up with the proliferation of obscenely violent war toys, the grannies created this latest protest action in an effort to get the poisonous stuff off the shelves, thereby, hopefully, decreasing the militarization of our youth.

The grandmothers think their campaign is particularly timely coming on the heels, as it did, of the President's disappointing announcement of more troops being sent to Afghanistan. "Violence begets violence," said Barbara Walker, a founding member of the Brigade. "These awful toys indoctrinate our young with the concept that war is the preferred tactic to conduct our foreign policy. Such a mind set emboldens our leaders to supplant peaceful negotiation and diplomacy with bombs and bloodshed. We are trying to eradicate the cancer at its core."

While the granny ferris wheel gang rotated through the air, another group of grannies wearing Santa Claus hats sang revised versions of favorite Christmas carols near the inside entrance. For instance:

JOY TO THE WORLD

JOY TO THE WORLD, LET'S END EACH WARLET EARTH BE PEACEFUL ONCE MORELET ALL THE GIRLS AND BO-O-YSBUY NO MORE WA-A-R T-O-OYSAND ALL OUR TROOPS COME BACKFROM AFGHANINSTAN AND IRAQOHH, WA-A-R IS NOT THE WAYTO LIVE OR PLAYNO, WA-A-R IS NOT THE WAYTO LIVE OR PLAY!

After about 20 minutes, store personnel politely asked the troupe of protesters to get off the ferris wheel. The riders stalled as long as they could without creating mayhem, and finally complied. Don't ever think you can't get a free ride in this country, because the grannies did. Store employees refunded each granny's entrance fee to the wheel. So, though we vehemently disapprove of Toys "R" Us's stock of despicable war toys, we must give them credit for treating us with great respect and courtesy.

After all the grannies and their compatriots left the store, including the carol singers, who were also politely asked to leave, they banded immediately outside the store on Broadway and sang the revised carols for another hour. Passersby enjoyed the concert and many gave the singers the thumbs up sign of approval.

Said the oldest Granny Peace Brigade member, Lillian Pollak, hale and active at 94, "We won't be here forever, and if we can't stop these deplorable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in our lifetime, we must at least do all within our power to teach our grandchildren while we are still here that war and violence are not the answer."

Thursday, December 3, 2009

DEAR READERS: I RECEIVED A WONDERFUL LETTER FROM ANOTHER ANTI-WAR GRANNY, LIZ AXTELL, WHICH I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU:

"Dear Joan,

I read your most recent post on the Anti-War Granny website, and felt empathy for you as you expressed your disappointment and dashed hopes regarding President Obama.

Now that it is official that he is escalating our military involvement in Afghanistan, I thought it an appropriate time to tell you some of what I am thinking. Perhaps you may not like what I have to say, but if I were meeting with you and the other grannies in New York, I would be saying the same things.

Let's face it, by and large, the policies and actions of the Obama Administration and the Democratic controlled Congress have been a disaster. Not just regarding Afghanistan-Iraq-Pakistan, but also regarding health care reform, the banking situation, home foreclosures, unemployment, etc. The Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration have no balls; they keep backing down and caving in to the Republicans, Wall Street, insurance companies, etc., and thumbing their noses at the very people who got them elected.

Several years ago, I changed my voting registration from Democratic to independent ( called unaffiliated in North Carolina). Like many people, I have called members of Congress, written letters, signed petitions, called the White House, etc. Folks in Washington D.C. are not listening--they are in a world of their own, divorced from the American people. The only thing they are interested in is remaining in power. It is time to think about a change in tactics. Cindy Sheehan spoke here in Raleigh a few weeks ago to a large audience and said the same thing.

Above all, the anti-war/peace movement must be independent and not be an appendage of the Democratic Party. I refuse to lift a finger to help any candidate get elected who supports our continued occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and votes to fund our wars there. I am tired of the rhetoric; actions (or inactions) speak louder than words.

About Me

I am a grandmother of 5 who founded Grandmothers Against the War over 6 years ago. Among our many activities, we were arrested and jailed when we tried to enlist at the Times Square recruiting center, in Oct., 2005, which became a world-wide story overnight. We've traveled to Europe and to Washington to speak, rally, lobby and perform. We hold vigils, demonstrations, protests, all sorts of actions, and do shows written mostly by me. I am an ASCAP lyricist and composer with a long career as a singer in cabarets, recording studios, movie sound tracks, and on records. I have written at least a thousand jingles, songs, film songs, cabaret acts, and 8 musicals, 5 of which were produced off- and off-off Broadway. My first book was published on April 29, 2008, by Citadel Press, entitled "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting off Our Fannies and Standing up for Peace." Please order it on Amazon.com, or get it at a book store.